Following Sunday’s win over the Bengals, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said George Pickens has “just got to grow up, man,” after the third-year receiver committed a pair of personal fouls.
Pickens was flagged for taunting and for making finger guns after a catch, costing Pittsburgh 30 yards in penalties. He finished the game with three receptions for 74 yards with a touchdown on six targets.
In Tomlin’s Tuesday press conference, he declined to really say how he’s handling Pickens behind the scenes.
For instance, when asked if Pickens’ recurring penalties are a concern, Tomlin said, via Brooke Pryor of ESPN, “If it is or isn’t, I wouldn’t necessarily tell you, to be quite honest with you.”
“I’m not going to give you any detail about what goes on behind the scenes in terms of his growth and development,” Tomlin said. “That’s my style, and I’m going to be really consistent in it. Being transparent with you guys doesn’t necessarily help or accelerate the growth process, and that’s my agenda, not necessarily feeding the beast.”
It seems like every week that Pickens, 23, has a clip go viral on social media for an extracurricular issue that flared up during the game. But he has continued to be productive, as he’s caught 55 passes for 850 yards with three touchdowns so far in 2024.
Pickens and the Steelers will face the Browns for the second time in three weeks on Sunday. When the two teams got together on a snowy Thursday night in Cleveland in Week 12, Pickens was tussling with Cleveland defenders on the last Hail Mary.
